Twisted
by lollipopSoda
Summary: It's unhealthy, what they have. It's dangerous. The night Ajax gets arrested and locked up, he calls a chick that he frequents. He needs her to get him out. He's no catch, but she won't let go. Broads don't mean anything to him, but he can't stay away. Ajax/OC, not fluffy.


The loud ring of the phone echoes through out the tiny apartment. She's still curled under her sheets, the heavy comforter having found it's way to the floor during the night. It was the middle of the summer, the days were scorching and the nights not that much better. Not even two feet from the bed a tall oscillating fan was set to high and locked into place in her general direction. The round alarm clock that used to be on the nightstand was laying somewhere under the bed. She groans as the ringing continues, nonstop until she's flopping out of her comfortable spot.

Her eyes are half-closed when she rips the receiver from the wall, pushing the plastic to her ear, her voice coming out in a grumpy rumble, "Hello?" she yawns waiting for the answer, but the second the voice reaches her ears the sleepiness in her eyes vanishes, along with any hope of crawling back into her bed.

"Hey babe." she swallows heavily, leaning against the wall. She hadn't heard his voice in a good two months, she figured he was either dead or in jail, "You gotta come get me."

"Huh?" surprise widens her green eyes, but quickly changes into confused anger, "James, it's like seven in the morning, what the hell are you talking about?" Not even a single phone call in**_two_** _months_ and he thinks he can just wake her up and tell her what to do?

"Upper west-side, the pigs got me-"

"You're in jail?" she cuts him off, already hearing agitation in his voice.

"Fuck Adrienne, just get your ass down here and get me out!"

"What did you do?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Tell me. Or I'm going back to sleep." she hisses nastily, suddenly pacing - as much as the phone cord would allow.

"Fuck. Some bitch in the park set me up," there is a pause, she hears him curse at someone - probably a cop telling him to hurry up, "Adrienne..."

"Some bitch huh?" she really hates how much that hurts, but hates it even more that she knows better, and that she's hung up on a guy who uses her and then abandons her. A guy that's a thief, a liar, and a complete brute.

"Just some bitch, Adrienne." he repeats, then his voice drops to a tone that she knows is reserved just for her and she finds herself remembering how she got herself into the whole mess that is James "Ajax" Collins in the first damn place, "Come on babe, we'll talk about it later, just get me out of this fucking place..."

The plea that is in his voice targets her heart because she knows how hard it must've been for him to ask so nicely. She bites her lip before letting out a loud sigh, leaning against the wall once more. "James...if I do this, I need you to get me the money back..."

"Yeah."

"That ain't good enough. I _need_ the money back."

"I heard you the first damn time. I'll get you the cash, get your ass down here." he snaps once again before the line goes dead. She swears to herself when she slams the phone back against the wall, her feet carrying her around her apartment. She showers, gets dressed, and then sits down to a bowl of cereal that is completely tasteless, even after she adds a couple of sugar packets. Her radio plays in the background but she doesn't really hear it. Half of her is screaming at her to not be an idiot and just leave Ajax where he is, but the other half of her is telling her to go, bring him back home, and make him make her feel.

The physical side of their relationship is what originally hooked Adrienne. About a year ago she'd met him on a subway train, she'd been sure she was about to be beat up, mugged, and or raped by the group of guys that boarded behind her. Instead she'd got a couple of smart comments from a few of the guys, but they'd otherwise left her alone. Except for Ajax, who'd taken to harassing her the entire ride. He was very forward, had no problem putting his hands on her even after she'd told him to stop, his language was crude and vulgar, he smelled like cigarettes and beer, and he even followed her after she got up and moved her seat.

He was extremely persistent, even after his friends told him to layoff. She always knew she should have felt panicked that day, apprehensive, scared, but somehow she'd been charmed by the most un-charming person she'd ever met. He'd kissed her the first day they met, rough, passionate, if he hadn't been getting off the train she was sure he'd of kept going. She thinks she might have too. She'd told him no, but the second his lips were on hers her body betrayed her. It had never been a fantasy of hers to make out with a strange gang member on a subway car, but after that day it was.

Adrienne worked Monday-Friday at a grocery store, she lived in a semi-decent apartment, she had a mom she could call when she needed emotional support, and she had a couple of reliable friends. She didn't have room in her life for an unstable, unpredictable relationship with an unstable, unpredictable criminal. But that didn't stop her from seeking it out. The next time they met it was on the same subway train, and the rest from there is history. History Adrienne isn't very proud of. Ajax, or James as she calls him, comes and goes as he pleases, there is nothing steady about what they have. Christ, not hearing from him in two months pretty much had her convinced that it was all over...for good.

And now...this. The legs of the dinning chair slide nosily over the rough, wooden floor. She doesn't bother tossing her empty bowl in the sink, nor does she turn the radio off before she grabs her bag and keys. Her door slams closed behind her. She walks quickly, her brown hair pulled into a messy bun, her eyes weary of her surroundings. It was relatively safe during the daylight hours, but the gang activity was abundant, you had to be able to tell when something wasn't right, and it was pretty much priority #1 for women to carry pepper spray or a knife. Adrienne had both in her purse.

The subway station is overflowing with police, there's a news anchor talking into a camera. She knows something big happened last night. She'd heard the sirens, on and off all night long, she'd heard shouting out on the street, and she'd wondered about Ajax. She couldn't admit it to herself but the second she'd heard his voice that morning she'd been relieved. Since the last time she heard from him she'd been worried, she convinced herself that he was just sick of their game, but death had been a strong possibility, one she didn't like to think about.

"Hey lady."

She looks up from the concrete floor, having found the steel gray more interesting to look at then the circus unfolding on the platform. You can only witness chaos so many times before it suddenly doesn't interest you anymore. "Yes?" her voice is small, she raises a brow in curiosity at the young stranger.

"Know what happened here?"

"Not a damn clue." she replies, just as the train pulls into the station. She offers a half-smile to the man before walking away and boarding with another small group of passengers. It's a good five minutes before the train leaves, another twenty minutes before she's boarding the next train, and another twenty before she's walking down Columbus and heading to 100th street. The police station is a bigger circus then the subway was, clowns with broken noses and mimes in handcuffs.

"Is there something you need help with?" the cop behind the desk is in full uniform, his voice toned with annoyance.

Adrienne manages to keep a sneer from curling her lips as she replies, "Actually, my uh...man friend was picked up last night, I-"

"Name?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your boyfriends name, mam."

"It's Collins, James Collins." she bites out harshly, disliking the term boyfriend.

He's looking through stacks of paper, a look of recognition contorting his face when he pulls the file he's looking for, "James Collins. You sure know how to pick them." he comments as he fills a portion of the form out and then puts his signature. "It's gonna be $500. But if you ask me, you're better off leaving him in there."

She's biting the inside of her cheek, the sneer she'd previously been able to control twisting her features. There is fire in her green eyes, but she opens her bag and removes her wallet, "I didn't ask." she informs, sliding the money over. He gives her a paper she needs to sign.

"Just trying to give you some good advice, kid." he mutters with a roll of his eyes. "He'll be brought up to you in a few minutes, go take a seat in the lobby. Keep a leash on him or somthin'"

She felt sick to her stomach when she turned away and found an empty bench. The cop was a dick, but even she knew he had a good point. If Ajax didn't get her that money back, she was going to kill him. She'd mace him and then stab him. The visual her mind provided her was amusing, her lips curling into a tiny smile. When she looks up the same fat cop was bringing Ajax in her direction. She heard them exchange a few nasty words and the second the handcuffs were off, the cop was gone.

His eyes are as blue as ever, raging with that fire that always seemed present within him. After his eyes, the first thing she notices is his swollen, busted lips, and an ugly purple bruise. She'd seen him worse, she'd seen him a lot worse, but somehow it still bothered her. "Hey baby," his eyes are stuck on her when he advances, and he wastes no time pulling her harshly from the wooden bench and kissing her.

"You'll need to do that somewhere else!" a voice snaps, breaking them apart. Adrienne is breathless and still can't decide if that's what she wanted or if she'd prefer to make him bleed some more.

Ajax has his eyes turned on the intruding cop, but Adrienne's hand wraps around his and tugs him towards the door, "Let's get out of this shithole."

He complies with her, and they walk out together. A few of the cops outside eye him, and he returns their looks with a smirk, "Are you going to tell me what happened, James?"

His jaw tightens, and he brings her body closer to his as they walk. "I thought we already had this conversation. Some bitch set me up, end of story."

Her own jaw tightens, green eyes concentrated on everything in front of her, everything except Ajax, "Are you sure you were set up?" her voice has a snide tone to it.

"For fucks sake Adrienne." he snaps angrily, "I fucked up, it happens."

"I haven't heard from you in [i]two god damn months!" she snarls, keeping pace down the street. She tries to pull away from him, but he hangs tight, his arm like a steel cage. It was times like these Adrienne really hated the strength Ajax was capable of, "James," her voice is a low warning when she again tries to remove herself from his grasp.

"Relax." it was one word, but it was said in such a dark tone Adrienne immediately ceased her attempts to break free, "Stop being such a fucking bitch about it. I had some shit going on." he pauses, his grip on her suddenly loosening, As soon as his hand leaves it's place on her arm, she tears herself away from him, "Adrienne," it's a warning she doesn't like. He reaches out for her again and she lets him take her arm, but instead of dragging her further down the street like she expected he was going to, he stopped to observe the replica of his hand imprinted around her arm.

"Fuck babe." his voice has an uncharacteristic tenderness to it.

"You're a fucking caveman _Ajax_." she snaps harshly, again retracting her arm from him and moving back down the street. She was sweating, it had to already be 80 degrees out and combined with her anger she was feeling overheated, "Screw it, I don't even give a shit." she calls behind her.

Ajax doesn't let her get far before he's sliding an arm around her again, she doesn't fight the embrace, letting the arm around her waist pull her to him.

"Chill out babe, it's not like I forgot about you or anything." his voice is low and husky. Adrienne doesn't know if there is truth in what he's saying, but it makes her weak, and reignites her desire to figure out just what they are, "Let's go back to your crib, spend some time together huh?"

"For sure." she mutters, the anger still not completely drained from her voice but she lays her head on his chest as the station comes into sight, "You're taking a shower first." she catches his eyes and smirks, delighted by the flash of something dangerous in his eyes, he really hated it when she told him what to do.


End file.
